This course takes you through the implementation steps required to get Xero Practice Manager up and running in your practice. There are multiple tutorials, with videos, detailed instructions and useful resources that will help you complete each step in your implementation journey.
Depending on the size of your business and the level of customization you require, it could take anything between 3 and 20 hours to complete the tutorials. This course is aimed at the Practice Administrator in your business, however all users in the practice will benefit from the content.
You can return to this page at any time to select a new part in the course, or follow the links on the pages to move throughout different steps.
Introduction
What’s in this program? How long will it take? Find out what’s involved in this program before you get started.
Where do I get started? Do I need a project plan? What about a training plan? Find out what you can do before you get started with this program, to ensure a smooth and successful implementation.
Estimated implementation timeline
It is very important that you understand the time and effort that will be required of you and your staff to successfully implement Xero Practice Manager in your business.
There are a number of resources listed in each tutorial. This is a summary of all the resources in this program.
Staff Settings
Job Settings
In this section you will learn about settings in Practice Manager that govern how jobs will be created, displayed and managed.
Learn about tasks, why you need them and how to set them up. Tasks are also known as codes or activities in other applications.
Consider the option of importing your own list of tasks, if you have these defined in another system. It could save you considerable set up time.
Learn about costs, why you need them and how to set them up. Costs are also known as disbursements or items in other applications.
Consider the option of importing your own list of costs or disbursements, if you have these defined in another system. It could save you considerable set up time.
Job categories are used to create logical groupings for your jobs that help you distinguish jobs when filtering information on screen or in reports. Review the default settings and add your own, if required.
Job states are used to determine the stages a job will progress through from start to finish. Review the default settings and customise them further, if required.
Job templates speed up the process of creating quotes, jobs and invoices. Review the default templates and add your own custom templates to the list.
You will need internal jobs to record time spent in the office on activities that will not be billed to clients, for example office admin and training. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create job templates that you can use to create internal jobs.
Enable Xero Interface
Setting up Clients
It’s time to bring your client records into Practice Manager. Complete some settings first, then move onto loading your client records, individually or in bulk.
Business structures can help you differentiate between different clients and they are essential when filing or lodging tax returns using Tax in Practice Manager.
Do you need additional data recorded for your clients? Have you got dynamic fields, extra fields or user-defined fields in your current system? You can set these up in Practice Manager using custom fields.
If you have a handful of client details, then it should be quick to enter them individually. You will also need to know how to enter clients on an ongoing basis.
If you have more than a handful of clients to bring into Practice Manager, then consider using an import file. It will speed up the process of getting your clients into the system.
Customize practice settings
Create jobs
One more step before you are done. If you have jobs that are still open prior to Go Live date, then you can import them into Practice Manager. Also, identify ongoing jobs that can be set up as recurring jobs.
The first step to bring in jobs and unbilled WIP, is to import the jobs themselves. Follow the instructions in the tutorial to create the import files and upload them into Practice Manager.
The second step is to import the unbilled WIP. This requires a second import file, where a balance is imported into every job you imported in the previous tutorial.
If you have jobs that repeat on a regular basis, such as monthly financial services or annual accounts, then you should create recurring jobs to automate the job creation process.
Customize more settings
Customize more settings - Introduction
In this section you will learn about additional settings in Practice Manager that you can set up to get the most out of the application.
Do you have special requirements for your printed documents? A company logo? Special fonts and colors? Then use the sample templates to customize your own templates to print invoices and quotes in Practice Manager.
If you have a large team, then you can use automatic notifications to keep everyone informed about their jobs in Practice Manager.
Connect to a Document Management System (DMS)
You can integrate with an external Document Management system to take advantage of an array of features, such as document sharing and collaboration with clients and your team members.
Go live and beyond
Go live and beyond - Introduction
Congratulations, you have reached the last step in your implementation journey.
Use the checklist in this tutorial to confirm that you are ready to make the switch. Good luck with the transition to Practice Manager, and don’t forget you are not alone. There are links to the online help and the support team.
Plan to review the system 6-10 weeks from now. You can reach out to a Practice Studio Partner (PSP) to help with the review of your system.